


Dusk

by tableturret



Series: Fireteam Fruitloops [7]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Original Character(s), Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tableturret/pseuds/tableturret
Summary: Seida-9's first Dawning without Cayde.





	Dusk

“Hey Seids.”

She freezes mid-step.

“What’s up? What’d I miss?”

Her grip tenses on her gun.

“Not turning around, eh?”

She shakes her head.  _ No _ , she thinks.  _ No. _

He draws near. Her shoulders tense with each footfall. Everything in her mind is screaming at her to run, but her boots are rooted to the spot.

“Not the kind of welcome I was expecting, but…”

The gentle whir of his joints as he moves his hand towards her—she can just feel his fingertips brush against her shoulder before she jerks away, stumbling forward. Her glove creaks as her fingers increase their hold on her gun.

“Okay, I get it. You’re mad, right?”

_ No. _ She swears she’s going to dent the gun’s grip.

“Seids. I’m sorry I’m late, okay?”

“No!” The scream finally comes out. She’s trembling now, vision blurring at the edges.

“Ah, one word. Atta girl.”

Somehow he closed the gap without a sound. His hand plants itself firmly on her shoulder. Her trembling stops. She opens her mouth to speak and a choked sob escapes from her voicebox. His other hand moves to hers, working its way under her fingers. The gun drops to the floor with a clatter.

She’s on her knees now, arms clutching her sides. She can’t see through the flickering in her optical sensors. She can feel him beside her, feel his hand on her back, moving in soothing motions. She shoves him away with one arm, scrambling to her feet.

“Okay, no touching. I gotcha.”

“Shut up!” She shouts, finally facing him. There he is, blue alloy shining through the blur in her sensors. Her neck begins to turn away but she forces her gaze on him. “Go away!”

“But Seids, I came all this way to—”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

His hand drops to his side. She shakes her head, trying in vain to clear her vision.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“I came home, Seids.”

“You came home?” She takes a step forward, motioning to him. “This is not how you came home. You came home with a hole in your chest. You came home dead!”

“Occupational hazard—”

“By Traveler’s Light, will you just shut up?”

“How am I supposed to explain myself?”

“You don’t, Cayde. You don’t need to explain yourself. You made some stupid, reckless mistake like you always do, and your beautiful, brilliant brain couldn’t catch up this time.”

“I—”

“No! Don’t you get it?” She stops walking. “You keep talking and I won’t be able to—” Her voice cracks and she turns away.

He tries to close the gap again, but stops when she puts up her hands.

“Don’t come near me. Don’t touch me. Don’t speak.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She looks to him again. “I failed you, Cayde.”

He chuckles. “Failed? Oh c’mon Seids. There’s no way you could do that to me.”

“But I did,” she says. “I did.”

“How could you fail me? How could you have known?”

“I...couldn’t have known. But I wasn’t there. I wasn’t able to save you. I wasn’t able to avenge you. I wasn’t able to...” Her voice went soft. “I wasn’t able to say goodbye.”

“You can tell me now,” he said. “I’m right here, Seids.”

She shakes her head, still avoiding his eyes. “You’re not real. This isn’t—this isn’t real.”

He’s got his arms around her now, one around the small of her back, the other resting on the top of her head. She pushes on his chest, trying to force him away again, but this time he’s holding firm.

“I’m real enough right now, aren’t I?”

A gasp. Seida’s eyes open and she’s lying on the floor. The room is cold, grey, the only color the green of the empty bottle adjacent to her. She pushes herself upright, taking the moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. There’s a pounding in her head, some sort of ringing in her ears, and she’s glad that it’s so dark.

As her vision clears, she sees the Vanguard crest on the door opposite to her, and realization creeps through her chest as she turns to the concrete block behind her. A white and gold cloth is draped over it, the silky finish picking up what little light there is, forming the profile of a man. Her mind goes back to the bottle.

She picks it up, turns it around in her hands. His favorite. Something strong, something to be shared, and not to be drunk by one person. She’s sure that, if not for being a Guardian or an Exo, she’d be dead.

Dead. The word sticks in her mind. If she died, would she be able to see him again?

Drunk in a tomb during the Dawning. She remembers how she found the bottle, stashed away in a cupboard in her ship.

“Don’t open it,” Astrophel said. Seida chuckles as the memories come back.

She remembers sitting on the cot, pouring a cup of the green stuff. The cup becomes two, then three, then she ditches the cup entirely, sipping indiscriminately, straight from the bottle.

She remembers stumbling around the Tower, her mind full of wishes and wants and schemes. She barks an excuse to the guard at the Vanguard headquarters, dodges the various custodian frames. Her heart carried her feet towards his side.

It’s empty in the place where he lies. Every one of her movements echoes back at her, a stark reminder of how she’s the only living thing in this room.

_ “I’m real enough right now, aren’t I?” _

His words send a shudder down her spine. Of course he’s real. He was, anyway. Warm, real, bright, beautiful.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have another bottle? Maybe she won’t be as mad this time. Maybe she could stay there with him, this time, by his side in that dreamscape between awake and asleep.

The door opens. If she were sober, whoever stood in the doorway would have gotten a knife to the face. Seida leans back on the concrete slab instead.

“Thought you’d be here,” a voice says. It’s gentle, maternal almost.

“Shut up,” Seida replies. There’s an obvious slur to her voice. “Where else should I be?”

Auri shakes her head and motions to someone behind her. She takes a seat right next to Seida, and pulls her into a side hug. Astrophel appears beside them, hovering in the air.

“Thank goodness you’re here, Auri. She’s pretending not to hear me.”

Auri glances at Seida. “Really? How rude.” She gives her friend another squeeze. “Don’t worry Astrophel, she’s doesn’t mean it.”

The little robot nods before turning to the sound of footsteps. A tall figure walks in, brow recently furrowed in worry, but a smile on his face nonetheless.

“We found you! Had me worried there, not answering your comms.” The thick voice belongs to Tristan. Firza floats in behind him, wearing an equally relieved expression as his feet land on the ground.

“You’re late,” the Awoken Warlock says with a small smile.

“Judging by the bottle, I’d say  _ we  _ were,” Tristan replies. “How are you feeling Seida?”

“M’fine,” the Exo says, turning away from them. The blur is seeping back into the edges of her vision.

Tristan doesn’t say anything else, just motions to Auri to move out of the way. In one movement, he kneels down and scoops up the Hunter in his arms. She’s stunned for a moment, like a drowsy puppy abruptly repositioned, but soon regains her senses.

“No!” She yells, struggling against the Titan’s grip. She kicks at the air and pushes off from his chest, but Tristan’s got a good hold on her.

“Tristan! Let me down!”

“No can do, Fireteam Captain.” He starts walking back up the hall out of the Vanguard mausoleum. Seida tries to wriggle out again.

“Don’t take me away! Don’t! Don’t make me leave him!”

“Wow yep. She’s still drunk.” Tristan’s grip tightens. “Auri?”

The Exo Warlock strides up to them. Drawing up a little Void energy in her palm, she presses her hand onto the Hunter’s forehead. Seida’s movements slow, her eyelids drooping.

“Auri...no...” Seida struggles against the drowsiness overtaking her sensors. Auri rests her hand on her cheek.

“You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“I can’t...leave him…”

“Shh,” Auri says, and Seida is completely relaxed now, eyes closed. Tristan sighs and makes his way down the hall. Firza trails behind to collect the bottle. His hand pauses over something peeking out from the hem of the shroud. A red diamond on a white background. He slides it out, holds it in his hand. It’s worn, but pristine all the same, like a flower preserved in a book.

He lays it down on the shroud, where Cayde’s heart would have been. A queen of diamonds.

“You didn’t leave him, Seida. You won’t. Ever.” Firza says. He turns around and lets the door close behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> I was still processing Cayde's death during this time. It hit me so hard during the Dawning, especially. Written in December 2018.


End file.
